Inferni – The Doctor Is In

March 10, 2015 • self-released

Inferni is back with a slightly different name and a much different sound; though I've covered this band before they deserve a revisit after putting out this new release. They've ditched the old acoustic pop melodies for something more on the post-punk / emocore side. It may be my own genre bias talking, but I think the change suits them really well and this EP is a really great listen.

I'd call the music on this EP some kind of emo, but there are a lot of different influences getting mashed together here to pin it down well. However there is a sort of minimalist approach here which works very effectively—only one guitar keeps things from getting to messy, and the vocals are sparse to both draw attention to the music when needed, and to have a healthy emotional impact. But my favorite thing about these songs is that they have hit on just some really awesome riffs; my favorite is probably the progression in "Ondine's Curse", there's some great interplay between the choppy guitar playing and smooth bass on that track (although the arpeggios and such in "Stockholm Syndrome" are up there as well).

Among these five tracks there isn't a single weak one, and I'm personally really happy with this release. Maybe we can see another EP or even a full-length sometime in the future? hmmm? Anyway, definitely give The Doctor Is In a try. Great stuff.

Prawn, Frameworks, Xerxes, Things Fall Apart, Reverse the Curse

May 5, 2015 • Ace of Cups, Columbus, Ohio

I guess I'm okay with the somewhat low amount of shows I've been to lately since they've all been so good. Tonight was no exception.

Reverse the Curse

This band's genre is really hard to pin down—I guess I'd call it some kind of atmospheric, super-textural post-punk or alternative rock, or something. Aside from the mumbly vocals, I actually liked them quite a bit. They make a nice opener, if nothing else: they're not too extreme but they put on a really good hard-hitting groove when they want.
6

Things Fall Apart

I have mixed feelings about this band. Their music sounded really familiar, but pparently I've never heard them before—I suppose they're just kind of generic (for lack of a less-derogatory word). They play standard modern screamo, and they do do a pretty good job at it although I can't say I was thrilled. Maybe it was due to the fact that the instrumental style was very "pretty" sounding, highly melodic and twinkly, so the screamed vocals didn't really jive well. Some bands pull it off but I don't think Things Fall Apart did. They must be doing something right, though, since they had the largest crowd of any other set (what's the deal with that?)
5

Xerxes

Like a moron I decided to take a slightly-longer-than-normal break before Xerxes' set, and I wish I hadn't. They were definitely one of the better sets of the night. Although they were also pretty straightforward screamo / emocore, they are definitely doing it right for a live setting. Very energetic and driving, melodic without being too sappy, and really great interplay between the bass and guitar. It's a shame their set was so short; they're definitely worth checking out if you get a chance.
8

Frameworks

It had been ages since I listened to these guys (okay, two years, but still) and I forgot how good they are. Their particular style of screamo is probably one of the better ones I've heard, at least in the studio, and they do work well on stage too. They're a bit too messy live to be appreciated on the same level as their studio work, but it was definitely good enough. Special mention to their adorable moment thanking Prawn (it was the last day of the tour) with a little gift bag.
7

Prawn

Like I said, last day of the tour, and if you didn't see them man oh man you missed out. Prawn has never even really been one of my top-favorite emo bands (though their albums are both really quite good), but live they knocked it out of the park. If you've heard them before there's isn't much to say about the musical side of their show (although thier drummer is pretty amazing, it turns out), but even music aside, their stage presence was amazing—lots of energy, genuinely having fun. I wish there had been more songs from the first album that I would have recognized, but oh well. Great stuff.
9

Red Sparowes – At the Soundless Dawn

February 22, 2005 • Neurot Recordings

Ah, post-rock with Isis members. It's like this band was tailor-made for me back in 2005. I listened to this album quite a lot back then but it's been years since I listened to this band at all, to the point where I have pretty much forgotten what this album was like. It actually sounds a lot like what I described: instrumental post-rock structures and aesthetics with a heavier, more distorted tone; kind of like the softer Isis interludes from their later albums with a bit of a faster tempo.

As far as compared to other "heavy post-rock" bands like Russian Circles or whatnot, and even the non-heavy ones, it's relatively generic. Maybe that's just me, since I really did overdo it on this kind of thing back then, but even in 2005 when this came out it was pretty well played-out by then. There are a few true "riffs" in the album that slowly get developed and expanded on, but all too frequently the band feels kind of unfocused. I think the problem is a lack of the dynamic range that makes most post-rock good; they start off at a pretty high level and just stay there most of the time, which isn't very engaging.

But somehow I still find myself more or less enjoying this album. At the least, it's very listenable. Sometimes there will be a bass line or unison riff or a piece of atmospherics that clicks with me in just the right way. Despite my detractions above, I still think it's an album worth listening to, if not at least to learn a bit more about where post-rock was in the mid-2000s.

Thus concludes Nostalgia Week! It mostly sucked. I probably won't do it again.

Chumbawamba – Tubthumper

September 23, 1997 • Universal Music

This is totally going to date me, but anyway: As you may remember, "Tubthumping" was a huge radio hit in 1997 in the US. I was eight years old and thought (for some reason) that it was the greatest thing that I had ever heard; my parents then bought this album, which was the first CD I ever personally owned. (In a disgustingly-romantic coincidence, it's also the first CD my girlfriend ever owned.) And, like most of the one-hit-wonders of the '90s, the album is unfortunately mostly forgettable—but not for me, as a nice little slice of my childhood.

What most people probably wouldn't guess is that the album isn't full of cheesy dance-pop anthems. Sure, there are a couple other ones and they are equally silly and kind of dumb. But buried in the middle of the album there are some actually-good songs, notably "The Good Ship Lifestyle" (by far my favorite) and "I Want More". And just about every other track, while certainly flawed, have a few little bits and pieces that are worth listening to. Many songs have little intros or outros of wildly different genres or with neat samples, which go a surprisingly long way to keeping the listening experience more interesting.

Unfortunately, most of the songs really aren't very good. Maybe I'm too acclimated to all of it, but just about every track has some aspect (if not the whole thing) which is just a bit too cloying or silly. Maybe it's something you have to be in the right mood for; generally I'm not in the mood for this kind of dance-pop.

I won't say this is necessarily a good album, or one that people should listen to even if they were into "Tubthumping" back in the day. On the whole, it's not particularly noteworthy or even listenable. I'll still take two or three tracks, but that's not a very good percentage.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor – 'Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress'

March 31, 2015 • Constellation Records

It feels like everything about this album that was going to be said has already been said, and it's barely out—but here you go anyway. It's fine. It's not anywhere near their best, but it'll do. Hell, it's Godspeed.

'Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress' sees the band continuing the trajectory of their previous album and moving towards a more cohesive rock sound: lots of in-unison playing, a more standard drumming style, more melody than usual—also, more drone than usual, with two harsh and dissonant drone pieces breaking up the first and last songs. Having heard this piece a couple times before in its live iteration on a few bootlegs, nothing here is surprising to me, and for anyone who's heard 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! nothing should be surprising to them, either. And like 'Allelujah it feels a bit short, a bit like a long EP—not quite as satisfying as one might hope. (Then again, the riff that comes in around the six-minute mark of "Piss Crowns Are Trebled" makes all that buildup totally worth it.)

But it's still a decent enough release. Yes, so it could have done all sorts of things. It could have been longer. It could have had more interesting drones. It could have had more samples and field recordings. It could have had multi-suite arrangements. It could have been the next F♯A♯∞. It could have cured cancer. But it didn't do any of those things, and that's okay. It does what it set out to do, and it does a good job at it.

For anyone who's never heard Godspeed before, this is a decent enough place to start. 'Allalujah might be a better one. But it's streaming, so go for it.

Set Fire to Flames – Sings Reign Rebuilder

October 9, 2001 • Alien8 Recordings

Since I've been on a Godspeed kick lately (in preparation for their new LP, obviously) I decided to pull out the album that has been in my collection the longest and I haven't rated it yet, despite getting a vinyl copy and being a fan of the group for so long. I've actually always had trouble wrapping my head around Set Fire to Flames. Their two albums are each sprawling, dense works of post-rock and field recordings and sound art that come and go too quickly to really wrap your head around and get immersed in.

One one hand (and maybe because I listen to this so infrequently) every time I spin this album it seems pretty fresh and I find a lot of different things to pick out and explore. The full-band post-rock sections are really quite good; not up to Godspeed standards, unfortunately, but they do the emotive climactic buildup thing well. The sound clips and samples that helped make F♯A♯∞ so incredible are here as well, though a bit hard to find. The album's strongest element is probably the viola-violin duets (such as that which opens the fantastic "Omaha"); I always love those on Godspeed's records and they have a bit more room on this album to breathe and expand.

On the other hand Sings Reign Rebuilder can be a chore to listen to. It's incredibly long at over seventy-three minutes and a good chunk of those minutes are really not that interesting. On just the second track we're subjected to a grating ten-minute section of noisy droning that, while it does eventually reach a nice climax, takes absolutely forever to get anywhere—and when it does, the ending is disappointingly short. I mean yeah, I'm not much of a patient listener anymore, not as much as I was when I started listening to this type of music. So your mileage may (will) vary.

On the other hand (in this exercise I have at least three hands) the noise and drone and general messing about is really an essential part of what makes this album work (and it does work, despite my complaints), and if one were to take one half of the album and somehow separate it from the other it would all fall apart into a giant mess and then nobody would be happy and where would we be? And in the end it's just an album, one that's ugly, and beautiful, and boring, and fascinating, and after all this I still don't know if I like it or not. Definitely some bits I do, and definitely some bits I don't, so on the whole yeah it's not bad.

Have Mercy – A Place of Our Own

October 27, 2014 • Hopeless Records

I've put off reviewing this one for so long, and I was never really sure why until now—I think I didn't want to admit to myself that I really don't like it all that much. It's odd considering that their first album is pretty good (albeit kind of a guilty pleasure) and this one is basically more of the same, but maybe that's why it doesn't click with me in the same way.

If you've listened to any song from The Earth Pushed Back—no, seriously, any one, they're all the same—you've heard this album. I didn't really have a problem with every song being the same before (even using a lot of the same exact chord progressions and the like) because they play them with a lot of energy and passion and yeah, the songs are pretty good. But this time around it just feels kind of recycled and so there really isn't anything interesting to talk about. It does have some decent songs, I'll admit, but not enough to hook me like anything on the debut did.

I dunno. Maybe I'm just not in the same mood anymore and the mopey-aggressive dichotomy and excessive melodrama hasn't doing anything for me on the particular days I've chosen to give this album a try. Maybe it'll grow on me. I don't know.

Yob, Ecstatic Vision, Lazer/Wulf

March 18, 2015 • Ace of Cups, Columbus, Ohio

I was so pumped for this show, and it turned out oh so good. One of the best I've been to in a long time.

Lazer/Wulf

I first saw these guys play over a year and a half ago, and it doesn't seem like much has changed—which I'd say is a good thing. They were just as good as I remember, if not maybe a little better. They're still playing the same progressive-djent-thrashy kind of stuff, and I might have even recognized a song or two (which always improves the concert experience, I find). They obviously still have a ton of fun playing and being on stage, so even if it's not quite the kind of music you're into, it's still a show that is worth checking out. I usually don't like when bands get a bit showy but Lazer/Wulf has a great sense of humor and self-awareness that keeps everything engaging.
7 • Best Guitar Face Award, Again

Ecstatic Vision

With their style of music and the rest of the show's lineup, Ecstatic Vision didn't have a chance of me liking them at all. And I didn't, really. Their sound is this sort of psychedelic stoner rock, which isn't really ever something I care much about or listen to, and yeah—I found them to be pretty boring. Their music seemed to be mostly a platform for the guitarist to play solos, which is usually only interesting for the guitarist. The drumming was pretty decent, with some tribal rhythms and some unique percussion voices. The bassist was doing his best to hold the other two together but unfortunately his material was so uninteresting I barely noticed he was even there. Bonus points, however, for the melodica, even though nobody could hear it.
5 • Best Rope Lights Award

Yob

I thought I overhyped this show in my head before I came, but it turned out to be one of the best sets I've ever seen, somehow. Despite that Yob plays a style (doom metal) that I don't listen to often and all their songs basically sound the same (even though I could recognize most of them), their live show was fantastic. They're probably the heaviest and loudest band I've seen yet; they do tune down to A but the bass response was incredible, organ-shattering stuff (thank god for earplugs). This, by the way, is how you do a guitar-led band correctly—have him play music that's actually interesting and nicely rhythmic so the drums and bass can support it properly. Yob has very simple drumming (it's basically just timekeeping) but he was still putting his all into playing well and matching the tone of the music. I was surprised at how fun a doom metal band can actually be to watch. Also, props for actually taking a request from the audience; I don't think I've actually seen anyone do that before.
9 • Corrupted Shirt Award

Something else neat: a couple of guys from Mouth of the Architect were there! (Makes sense since they live in Dayton which is only about an hour and a half away.) I only know of this because someone happened to notice my Mouth of the Architect shirt I got at the show they played here, so I stopped and shook hands said hello. Buncha cool guys.

The Church, The Sharp Things

March 7, 2015 • The Grog Shop, Cleveland, Ohio

A trip up to Cleveland with the SO + her family, to finally go to a venue I almost went to ten years ago to see Isis (but didn't because I was a minor). It's actually a pretty nice place—at least, a step up (albeit a small one) from most of the dingy bars I go to in Columbus. I guess The Church is one of the most well-known acts I've seen in a long, long time, so it's somewhat fitting. Although they also sell out huge venues like the Opera House in Australia, so what do I know.

The Sharp Things

I'd never heard of this band before and after today I'll probably never think about them again. They're supposed to be some kind of big chamber pop / pop-rock group, but at this show there were just two guys, one on bass and one singing and on guitar or piano. They played incredibly generic pop ballads, I think; I barely remember because it was just so forgettable.

The Church

For a band who I really haven't heard much of (one album off-and-on a while ago) and a I was pleasantly surprised by this show. As I often forget, with concerts what matters usually isn't what you play but rather how you play it, and even though I'm pretty ambivalent about their studio work I thought the show was done very well. For a bunch of old dudes they actually do still rock sufficiently. I didn't recognize most of the songs they played (I knew three out of about fifteen) but most of them were still fun to watch in their own way. They tended to go off on extended post-psych jam sessions at the end of some songs which usually wound up working really well, though it sometimes seemed to clash with their poppier tunes a little. On the other hand the mix of styles, old and new, helped keep the long show from getting stale too fast (though I was ready to go home about five songs before they stopped, but I was pretty tired anyway). Some enjoyable banter from Steve Kilbey helped keep things light too. All in all, enjoyable stuff; I'm glad I went.

Crash of Rhinos – Distal

April 1, 2011 • Brave or Invincible Records

I know, I know. It's too late to talk about this band. They broke up almost exactly one year ago, but it is only just recently that I discovered them and I can't stop listening to this album.

Back in 2010 I first heard Cap'n Jazz and got absolutely hooked on emo (as anyone who reads the blog can attest to; I've been posting more emo reviews than anyone ought). But after all that time I couldn't really find a band that brought the same kind of thing that made Cap'n Jazz so good—that same kind of raw intensity without being too heavy, the same intricate approach without being too mathy, the perfect balance of everything that makes this kind of music worth listening to.

Well, Crash of Rhinos has it. (Had it, I guess.) I've heard both of their albums but I think Distal barely ekes out as being the better one, and I don't say that lightly. There is not a single wasted moment here, not a single drum hit or guitar note or vocalization that isn't overflowing with passion and meaning and value and beauty. There is not a single song that doesn't make me stop whatever else I'm doing and take it in. This review took far too long to write because I had to keep stopping and just let myself listen.

A couple choice moments:

• The huge gang vocal section closing out "Big Sea", an excellent callback to the beginning of the song while showing just how grand they're capable of getting.
• The last half of "Stiltwalker", which takes on this elegant legato Bear vs. Shark feel that is absolutely entrancing.
• The seamless shift of the same riff into triple-feel halfway through "Gold on Red". I don't even know why it works so brilliantly.
• "Asleep" ending the album not with a bang, but by quietly slinking off into the distance, leaving the listener in a puddle on the floor.
• Me, needing to immediately listen to the whole thing again after the first time. That has happened maybe only three or four times that I can remember, ever.

This band is essential listening for anyone with even the remotest possibility of having interest in emo. And it came out in 2011—during emo's revival, when there don't seem to be many albums like this, and right when I needed it. It's criminal that it doesn't seem to have gotten as much exposure as it deserves. Maybe one day.

Shahman – Demise of a Body

October 16, 2014 • Dismal Niche Tapes

Usually I prefer to listen to (and review) music without too much unnecessary context, but Demise of a Body is one release where it adds a whole lot to the experience. These two tracks are more than just an EP—they're like an event, a service. The music is in tribute to the musicians' mother who had recently died, and they do a great job at conveying that.

There are two parts: The opener is a spoken poetry piece backed by some meandering '70s synth; nothing fancy but it serves as an excellent opener and really puts the listener in the right mood. But the real meat of the EP is the second track, which is this slow, plodding, minimalist doom-rock kind of thing; there's this nice tribal drumming and layers of good guitar work that just wash around each other in a very hypnotic way. I didn't listen to the album this way but I bet it would be excellent for one of those lights-out-nighttime-headphone sessions, just getting totally immersed in this music.

Of course it could all be that (as I've said before) I'm a huge fan of anything that's just devastatingly sad, and this is certainly up there with the saddest. The simple, pure, realness of the whole presentation really seals the deal. But even that aside it's still a great chunk of music, so go listen to it already.

Dikembe – Mediumship

July 22, 2014 • Tiny Engines

For some reason I keep forgetting this band exists—even though they're easily one of my favorites of the new wave of midwest emo (despite being from Florida). I loved Chicago Bowls, and Broad Shoulders was just as good. But something happened after that and this, their second album, just isn't cutting it for me whatsoever.

The midwest emo sound is actually disappearing, being replaced with a bit more straightforward indie rock style (or even alternative rock, somehow). A few of the tracks on are a bit more on the soft, plodding, post-rock-ish side as well. Nothing atypical for this style of music, I suppose.

But going back and comparing this to Broad Shoulders, just two years earlier, it almost feels like a different band—or at least like something special has been lost. No more silly audio clips, everything feels a bit slower and flatter, and a little bit more generic; even the vocalist (when he doesn't sound like a different person entirely) sounds like he's falling asleep most of the time, when on previous songs he was quite energetic. It took until the eighth song, "Donuts in a Six Speed", to finally hear something like the band I was expecting.

I dunno; I guess the songs are still decent, but I can't help but feel massively disappointed. Hardly anything in ten whole tracks got me excited; I really wonder what happened to this once-great band. At least they still have one great EP and one great album to listen to regardless.

Steady Lean – Here's Something

October 21, 2014 • self-released

So New Weird America isn't dead after all? Maybe? Not sure where else Steady Lean fits in my headspace. But they do write some enjoyable songs, anyway.

I usually don't really like this kind of lo-fi basement recording, but some bands pull it off well, and these guys do alright. A combination of jangly acoustic guitars, electric leads, muted background drumming (if it's even there), vocals that are mumbly and optimistic at the same time. I guess it's some kind of country rock, or maybe post-punk, or garage rock? I have no idea.

It's not entirely the style of music I would normally care about, I have to admit, especially with the kind of country-esque flair a lot of the songs have. But Steady Lean are definitely good at their songwriting: every song is chock-full of really good and catchy melodies, with just the right amount of somberness to top it off.

I don't know how much I'll ever be going back to it, simply because the overall aesthetic isn't totally to my taste. But it's a strong album, and I can tell anyway that these guys are good, and they know what they're doing, and they have a lot of potential appeal. And I have to say this album grew on me a lot after the handful of spins I gave it, so I guess you never know.

Rosetta – Flies to Flame

October 14, 2014 • Translation Loss Records

If, like me, you've been following Rosetta's trajectory for the last almost-ten years since I first heard The Galilean Satellites, then I barely need to talk much about their last release on Translation Loss, Flies to Flame. Let me state off the bat: Yes, Rosetta is still a good band; yes, I still enjoy their music; yes, this EP is still good; yes, I bought the record. (Gotta have that green vinyl.) But since they are one of my top-favorites it's too easy to judge new material harshly, like I did with The Anaesthete, and it's tough to judge releases like this.

With that in mind: Every time I've listened to this EP, all I can think is "yep, just more Rosetta songs." And that's just what they are: the slow chord progressions, walls of echoing guitar washing off every surface, drumming that just can't go without filling every eighth note with something. I mean, yes, obviously I like it. But they've got thirty other songs that sound just like it! (The guitar-drone-only "Seven Years..." is a bit unique for the band as far as I can tell, for what it's worth.)

The EP does have a very soft sound, though, especially compared to the metal juggernaut that The Anaesthete was—seriously, listen to these back-to-back; it's like getting punched. So for anyone who does dig Rosetta when they're a bit more quiet and introspective is going to enjoy this. I won't say it's my favorite of their styles, but they are still quite good at it.

But I have to say I'm still excited for the band. They've got that new documentary out (hopefully there'll be a piece on that here soon), and self-funding seems to be working out well so far, so it'll be neat to find out where things go from here. Flies to Flame is a fitting goodbye to their old label and their old ways; let's just see what comes next.

Terminus Cursus – 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

November 26, 2014 • Bridgetown Records

More good stuff from the always-on-top Bridgetown Records today: another little-known but well-deserving band with a new EP out delivering a neat take on rock that, while not perfect, shows a lot of promise.

The EP starts off as something like minimalist psychedelic post-punk—simplistic drum patterns, wailing electric guitar, wavering warbly anguished vocals, all drenched in a thick, sopping blanket of reverberation. As the songs go by, they transform from something a bit Joy Division-esque to add a bit of Wire, and we eventually wind up in this weird land of freakout-punk before heading back to where we started, more or less. It's a weird ride and, although it's a short one at only five songs, it's still pretty interesting and Terminus Cursus shows they have a nicely diverse set of skills to show off.

On the whole, there's some of 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 I like and some I don't. They do have a really good handle on balancing the faster / punkier songs with the slower post-punk ones; at no point does the EP feel very repetitive or rehashed. (Of course, it's not very long either, so that helps.) On the other hand, their actual production style feels a bit uncomfortable—particularly the bizarre vocals, which often have the weird warbly effect on them I mentioned earlier. I guess it kind of fits the overall aesthetic and it is a pretty unique element, but I am not really a fan.

On the whole, though, I think this EP is pretty neat. At the very least, it's definitely something different which is good enough for me. Looking forward to the next output from this band.

Bastos / Pandrea – Split

September 24, 2014 • Fading Halo Records

This is a quick split single from two Romanian bands—a country I almost never hear anything from, so it's pretty neat to get a hold of this.

Bastos plays mostly-instrumental math rock that's a bit on the heavier side, like a tamer 65daysofstatic without the electronics. Pandrea is similar, but a bit more grungy-alt-rock with this odd jaunty sort of very-Eastern-European vibe going on under the hood. It's a nice pairing, although I have to say personally Bastos is the more appealing band to me—they both have their charms, though.

Without substantial vocals, there's a bit of a lacking feeling on these tracks. They're definitely off to a great start, but I think to truly come into their own there's a bit more fleshing-out to be done. I won't say adding vocals is definitely the way to go, however.

Either way, this is definitely a neat little split with two bands that are worth checking out.

Torche, Broughton's Rules, Maranatha

September 23, 2014 • Ace of Cups, Columbus, Ohio

Finally! It feels like ages since the last concert I went to (okay it was only July, but still). Back at good old Ace of Cups, where everything is always amazing.

Maranatha

A local band who I'd never heard of but they instantly impressed me. They are a really heavy style of sludgecore, with some brutal dropped-tuning chugging, some hardcore rhythms, and even a little bit of death metal sprinkled in here and there. Definitely one of the best examples of the genre I've witnessed so far—I won't say they quite touch Struck by Lightning (not that they're trying to), but they were still impressive enough for me to pick up their EP (which is free to download by the way). Cool dudes, cool show.

Broughton's Rules

I'd never heard of this band either, but one of the guitarists used to be in Don Caballero, so they oughta be good, right? Nah, not really. They were this kind of odd psychedelic instrumental post-metal thing, with lots of jamming on a single section with lots of dissonant noisy guitar bits and the occasional heavy riff. There is a bit of promising material buried somewhere in there, but the rocking out never lasted very long and they spent more time goofing around with the awful noise than actually playing. They weren't bad, but they definitely weren't the kind of band I'd seek out or ever listen to again.

Torche

I've already written plenty about Torche, including a live show two years ago, their last album, and various Floor stuff. So it should be no surprise that I was psyched to see them again and that I had an excellent time—they were easily better than when I saw them supporting Converge in 2012. I suppose that's partly because I've had more time to get to know Harmonicraft, so everything they played was familiar to me. But they also simply just put on a damn good show. It always warms my cold heart to see Steve Brooks dancing around in a very silly manner when starting off a song. You can tell they were all still so happy to be there and play. Absolutely worth checking out whenever they're around.

7 Inch Grab Bag, part 2

In case you missed my recent haul post, I got a grab bag of ten randomly-selected 7" records. Here are my thoughts on the next three!

Humanbodyflawed / The Jan-Michael Vincent Car Crash – Split

2001 • Obtuse Mule

Grind! Grind! Grind! At least I think that's what's going on with the Jan-Michael Vincent Car Crash. It's crazy, technical, mathy stuff, and a great big mess of it. Weird growly bass, oppressive angular guitar, muffled screams make for a bizarre and alienating listen. Humanbodyflawed is similar but, somehow, even weirder; the extra guitar fuzz tries to mask some truly strange musical forays that go from Dillinger Escape Plan to Pig Destroyer to god knows what. This is an EP worth seeking out, for sure.

---

Big Meat – Botulism

2003 • Sit on My 2-Faced Bitch Records

Not sure what I'd say this is. Hard rock with a punk edge? Garage rock, maybe? Probably. Anyway, I'm not totally thrilled by it, though it's not awful. Just kind of generic aggressive rock, very indicative of its time (early 2000s). Worth one listen, and then I forgot all about it. "Thundercleese" is a little catchy, though.

---

Play Your Own Theme Song

1999 • Mortville Records

I hate reviewing splits, but at least this one has the unique premise that all four bands are recording theme songs for themselves. Kinda neat, kinda silly.

• The Chumps – Awful garage rock. Cheesy, unoriginal music, bad vocals, goes on way too long. Not even worth thinking about. Please move on.
• The Commies – Snarly pop-punk kind of stuff, a big anthemic song. Also cheesy but at least they seem to know it.
• Los Tigres Guapos – Something like horror punk maybe? It's also a little silly but these guys are actually kind of good. Not much to say about a one-minute track, though.
• Reclusives – More straightforward old-school hardcore punkabilly. I'm not a huge fan, but I can tell they're not a bad band.

7 Inch Grab Bag, part 1

In case you missed my recent haul post, I got a grab bag of ten randomly-selected 7" records. Here are my thoughts on the first three!

Medicine Man – Céad Míle Fáilte

1993 • Thrashing Mad

I wasn't expecting this at all. From the cover, it looks like some kind of cheesy folk rock, but in reality it's more like old-school hardcore punk, Minor Threat style, with a bit of a hard rock / heavy metal feel at times and not-very-good vocals. The riffs are a bit dissonant and not particularly memorable, but there's some really nice bass work going on. All in all, I kinda like it. Not something I can see myself getting super into, but it's pretty good stuff.

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The Rumour – Frozen Years / All Fall Down

1979 • Stiff Records

Cheesy '70s pop/rock, as I had suspected. Sort of an XTC feel with the spacey synthesizers and acoustic guitars, but not as carefully composed or expressive and it's a bit too repetitive for me. The B-side "All Fall Down" is definitely a bit better with an interesting dub feel, but it quickly gets too silly. Nice guitar soloing, though.

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DCOi! – DCOi

2008 • xTruex Records

Nice and crusty! Fast, modern-sounding west coast punk (well, it was 2008), and it's some really good catchy stuff, switching between noisy blasting and crunchy, driving rhythms. I won't say it's the best modern hardcore I've heard and they're certainly not unique or anything, but it certainly gets the job done well for when you're in the mood to break stuff.

Braid – No Coast

July 8, 2014 • Topshelf Records

This one caught me a bit off guard; I haven't really been paying attention and didn't realize at first that Braid, one of the most seminal emo bands of the original '90s wave, reunited for a new album and tour. (I guess I was too interested in similar situation of the Owls reunion.) There's something a bit odd about a bunch of old-timers playing music that's always been a very teenage sort of thing, but I guess if anyone were to try and pull it off I'd rather it be Braid than just about anyone else.

No Coast definitely has a different sound than their older albums (as should have been expected). It's less emo and more straight-up indie rock, with more restrained vocals and an overall more straightforward sound. There's still a little bit of that punk-ish drumming and emotive guitar lines, but the result is definitely on the tamer side. I won't call it completely radio-friendly yet, but it edged in that direction a little bit.

Of course that isn't necessarily a bad thing; the songs are still pretty good. A little repetitive, perhaps (especially in the lyrics and choruses), but definitely enjoyable. It's well-produced, slick-sounding stuff and there are plenty of nice catchy riffs and rhythms ("Many Enemies"' Pixies-esque style stands out as one of the top tracks). However, they still don't come anywhere close to the greatness of The Age of Octeen or Frame & Canvas. There just aren't a lot of moments that are as moving or memorable as those two albums were.

That being said, it's still good stuff and worth a listen or two. After all, it might have been sixteen years but it's still Braid and they're still good. I guess if this exact album was made by another band, it probably wouldn't get the same response (yes, even from me) but I think it would still be quite well-received. Anyway, check it out already.